Poroshenko says US weapons are coming

Date of publication: 26 06 2017, 17:45

Kiev, Ukraine. As the “love affair” with Donald Trump continues the mantra coming from Petro Poroshenko when asked about the USA and Trump is, “Because Donald Trump is the kindest, nicest and most wonderful human being I’ve ever known” ala the Manchurian Candidate. In an interview with the TV channels Ukraine, ICTV and Inter, President Petro Poroshenko said that the US would try to resolve the issue of supplying defensive weapons to Ukraine before October.

It is interesting that no mention was made of the $350 million dollars worth of offensive weapons the US earlier promised, nor did Poroshenko explain if these arms would be in giveaways or in debt documented to the US Treasury.

“As for the defense agreements: we have a virtually agreed-on their text. We are waiting for a visit by the US Secretary of Defense James Mattis to Ukraine in two or three months, and hope that the agreements will be signed during this visit. But I emphasize that this will not stop the supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine; this process is very, very active.”

“Moreover, during a meeting with the Defense Department, there was a position that a resolution regarding the supply of defense weapons would be attempted once more during this budget year, by October. So there is no skepticism. These are clear and concrete agreements, unprecedented, which Ukraine has never had in our relations with the US,” Poroshenko said.

In 2014, the US decided not to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, because the White House believed that they could “spur” Russia to escalate the conflict, as well as concerns the USA would be openly arming neo-Nazi forces killing civilians in Donbass.

In early 2017, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, then still President Donald Trump’s candidate for the post, said that America needed to support Ukraine and provide it with lethal defensive weapons even though Donald Trump has since launched a program to put Kiev in debt for military assistance, rather than simply giving it away.